Cygnus spacecraft finesses first resupply mission to the space station

By Tamara Dietrich

Cygnus cargo spacecraft completes ISS mission

NASA/ESA

(NASA/ESA)

Orbital Science's Cygnus cargo craft finessed its first operational mission to the International Space Station.

The Cygnus commercial freighter launched from Wallops Island in January, berthed with the station and delivered nearly 3,000 pounds of food, science experiments, hardware and other provisions to the crew. About five weeks later, it disembarked to return home.

And so the Dulles-based Orbital became only the second company in the world to prove it can resupply the ISS, along with SpaceX out of California.